Summary

After 5 years of effort by the Army and nearly $200 million in outlays, communities near chemical weapon storage sites are still not prepared to respond to a chemical emergency. The Army now estimates that this emergency preparedness program will cost nearly $700 million through its target completion date of 2003. The Army has yet to identify all the risks to civilians from a chemical accident, and the program has experienced delays in acquiring and installing essential equipment, such as warning sirens and automated systems. The program's management is complicated by the need to work with various state, local, and federal officials. The Army's overall management approach, however, has been ineffective. The Army's practice of sharing management responsibilities for activities such as training has led to unclear responsibility, uncoordinated activities, and weak controls over funds. These conditions have delayed the attainment of program objectives.

GAO found that: (1) communities near chemical weapon storage sites are not prepared to respond to a chemical emergency despite the Army's efforts to provide communities with emergency response capabilities; (2) the Army estimates that CSEPP will cost $696 million through 2003; (3) communities lack guidance for responding to a chemical emergency because the Army has not completely identified the risks to civilian populations of chemical accidents that cross installation boundaries; (4) CSEPP officials estimate that CSEPP guidance will not be completed until March 1994; (5) CSEPP has incurred delays in acquiring and installing essential equipment due to unrealistic plans and schedules and problems in developing state-of-the art systems; (6) CSEPP management weaknesses have contributed to program delays; (7) CSEPP management is complicated by the need to work with various state, local, and federal officials; (8) the Army's overall management approach has not been effective and has resulted in unclear management responsibility, uncoordinated activities, and weak controls over funds; and (9) the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) has not provided the Army with adequate financial management information to evaluate CSEPP progress.